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Saturday, July 13, 2013

Why My Angel-Baby Scares the Crap Out of Me

My baby is an angel. No, really. Yes, he has his moments like all babies do. But he sleeps through the night 99.9% of the time. 12 hours +, people. He's happy everyday. He smiles at everyone. He patiently waits while I prepare his bottles (sometimes). He sits happily in my lap when I am watching TV or eating or working on the computer. He cries maybe 3 minutes a day on average. No, I'm not bragging. Read on.

I'm telling you this because I am scared #$%*less to ever have another baby because you know that ISH ain't happenin' twice! Since having a baby, we've now been exposed numerous horror stories from other parents who've had difficult babies. Babies who had colic and cried all day or babies who would not sleep. There have been a few nights when our little guy has woken up for an hour at 4am and just a handful where he has woken a second time and I am an absolute sleep-deprived zombie the next day! Even with our sleeping champ, my house is currently a disaster and I still have a hard time keeping up with daily duties like laundry. How in the world would I handle a baby who wakes up multiple times a night or does not go back to sleep or cries and cries and cries???

Let me back myself up a bit. I feel like I have 3 kids already in some ways. I have 2 pugs that are so high maintenance, they are like children. Ok, I'm slightly exaggerating; but at least combined they are like one child. They are allergic to anything and everything, so we have to homemake food for them and heat it up twice a day. Luckily, John can make and freeze large batches once a week at the restaurant. If they don't get their homemade meals, they start losing their hair and smelling really, really bad. The grass makes them itch so they poo on the porch - yay. They have been to the vet more than Asher has been to the pediatrician in the past 5 months. They always have ear infections and even need a special shampoo. They try to eat anything of Asher's, so I have to make sure to move all of his things to an unreachable-by-pugs spot before leaving the room with him. The get into the bathroom trash at least 3 times a week even though it's gated off (I need to get a trash with a lid in there... it's on my list.) And here's the real kicker - they randomly get fits of vomiting and diarrhea such as this morning when I let them out of their cage only to release poo-covered dogs to go running through the house. That's right - think mop, vacuum, mop again, the disposal of two rugs, and some serious dog baths before Asher's morning bottle. I think it was a test of my patience and strength. I hope I passed.

We haven't been talking about expanding our cozy little family any time soon. I never imagined stopping at one, though. I feel like Asher might be lonely without a sibling to play with or grow up alongside. I grew up the middle girl of three girls, and we had our fights and your normal familial disagreements that may or may not have gotten physical from time to time, but we have so many wonderful memories with each other. We text or talk to each other almost everyday. We share silly jokes that no one else gets. We're there for each other when we need advice or just to vent. I would hate for Asher to miss out on that.

In all honesty, I know its something we could handle, either way; we would make it work like so many have done before. Every baby is a blessing, even the difficult ones. Maybe we are blessed to have had our first be easy so that we can settle into this new life and all the changes that come along before having our world flipped upside down by a little night partier. I mean, at least we have most of the basics down and know some of what is coming our way. Praise-worthy parents who have been there can assure that you find ways to adjust, you learn to make it work. And, yes, those early days do pass and these are only short stages that do not last a lifetime. In fact, they pass more quickly than you can even imagine. That still doesn't ease my anxiety that we may down the road end up with a tiny little tornado that keeps us up all night or drives us to invest in earmuffs. It makes me happy that we are in no rush to add another to our roster. Or maybe we will pull our chips while we're still ahead and our magical number will just be one.

Have any of you dealt with a difficult baby or was there a big difference between your babies' temperaments?Pin It Now!